Every year we choose a theme for this evening around a song. Tonight we have chosen “The World’s Greatest “ by R. E. Kelly. This will help you to recognise the backdrop, the mountain top on high and the star in the sky from the chorus. Thanks to Mr Cawood and the staff team for painting and creating this picture.

By being your personal greatest, you can make a difference in a positive way in the lives of others.

Do you believe that this is possible for you to make a difference? After all you are still at school, you aren’t earning, you don’t have any powerful position. I believe you can, and to support my argument let me go through a few examples from this year to support my belief.

Some examples from this year:

Caleb rescued a swimmer at Clifton beach who was in trouble; he made a difference in that person’s life, maybe even saved his life;

Caitlin spoke kindly to a lady who was going into hospital for an operation. The lady had no one to be there for her, and Caitlin said, its OK, I will be there for you. She made that scary experience much better for that lady, she made a difference;

Meghan needed to speak out when Kwekwe was stabbed, so she asked you to help, collecting hundreds of signatures and handing them to the Minster of Police. This helped focus attention on safety in Imizamo Yethu. I know that these pressures have resulted in more visible policing in the area, making it safer. For people living there, this has made a difference;

Hannah reads a lot, and this is part provided the foundation for her winning the 2015 English Olympiad. This makes a difference in how people view our school. Any doubt that you are able to achieve the highest academic results are gone, now everyone knows we can do it because Hannah did it. She made a difference in how we as a school are perceived;

Tor entered the Science Olympiad and won a special Environmental Engineering award from the South African Institute of Civil Engineers. The people at that institute now know that Camps Bay High School produces learners who can think, and create and innovate. She has made a difference for all of us;

Thanks to Ms Janse van Rensburg’s initiative, we have a Rhino at the V&A Waterfront that is seen by thousands of tourists. It says that Camps Bay High School pupils care about the environment and are committed to saving the Rhino and by inference, saving the planet. Those ACTA pupils have made a difference;

As part of RAK week (that’s Random Acts of Kindness), the Interact Committee with Laylah and Kim decided that one day would be a Bread Buddies day. I was really touched with the response and the mountain of sandwiches we made. The pupils at Sentinel Primary had a great food day, receiving these sandwiches. We made that day different/better for those pupils.

I have mentioned a few pupils and groups at school that have and are making a difference, and so can you I know that far more of you are not mentioned but are doing your bit , making a difference!

Tonight we are focussing mostly on academic achievements. However, being a pupil at Camps Bay High is learning more than just the curriculum we deliver.

Here we also learn how to:

Speak out against injustice, starting by not tolerating any form of bullying at school;

Oppose violence and violent ways of solving problems, making our school a safe place;

Value knowledge;

Value the ability to reason and argue a point;

Embrace learning.

So, if you are not yet the world’s greatest, then start by being your own personal best; be the greatest that you can be.

Tonight we will honour and applaud a group of our pupils who we think are the greatest in the areas in which they have performed.

Thank you for joining us, now sit back and enjoy our unique Camps Bay High Celebration.